Hoe.



J. W. BARWICK.

. HOE.

APPLICATION nun ma. 2. 1912.

1,160,238. Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

JAMES W. BARWICK, OF THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA.

HOE.

Application filed February 3, 1912.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, JAMES \V. Banwicn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Thomasville, in the county of Thomas and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hoes; andI do declare the following to be a full, clear and exact description 0 the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,..reference being had to the accomanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

.My invention relates to hoes; and it has for its object to provide features of construction which make it possible to form the blade of lighter or thinner metal in cross section than heretofore and at the same time enable it to be made of greater. length or width and if desired of .lessdepth than in the past while affording the maximum of strength at points adjacent to the junction of the blade and eye and adjacent thereto, and at the same time bringing the application of the eye and operating handle in such relation to the blade that the power in operation of the hoe is at such point as to render the hoe easier of manipulation and with less fatigue and with more effectiveness than heretofore.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear the invention consists in the features hereinafter described and then sought to be particularly defined by the claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective of the whole imlement; Fig. 2, a perspective of the hoelade; Fig. 3 a rear elevation of the hoe,

without the handle, and with a portion of the blade and bracing shoulders broken away; Fig. 4 a vertical cross section on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 a detail sectional View on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

In the drawing the numeral 1 designates the eye of the hoe which has formed as a part thereof a brace-plate 2 which extends elow and also to opposite sides of the eye and converges toward its opposite ends Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

Serial No. 875.197.

along both its top and bottom edges as indicated clearly in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing and which portion is adapted to bear against the rear face of the blade as illustratcd.

The portions of the top edge of the braceplate at opposite sides of the eye are off-set as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 of the drawing so as to provide relatively prolonged shoulders 3 which will bear down on the top edge of the blade at both sides of the eye and afford top bearings for the blade at such points and thus take strain from off the rivets by which the blade is attached to the brace-plate and prevent movement due to looseness when the connection of the attaching rivets becomes loosened in constant use of the hoe. The eye is also provided with a bracing bead or flange l conforming to thesemi-circular conformation of the lower half of theeyo and undercut or'recessed as at 5 to receive the edge of that portion of the blade between the portions which lie beneath the laterally extending shoulders 23.

By this construction the blade is reinforced and braced along and parallel with its top edge at opposite sides of the eye as well as along the lower section of the eye, and at the latter portion in a semi-circular or in verted arch-like form so that the maximum strength and rigidity are attained.

The blade 6 is formed of steel, relatively thin in cross-section, and has a semi-circular recess 7 formed centrally in its top edge to receive the lower half of the eye so that the longitudinal axis of the handle 8 will lie partially below the top edge of the blade, thus bringing the line of application of power below the top edge of the blade and nearer the point of greatest resistance in manipulating the hoe. This also makes it possible to apply the bracing shoulder along the top edge of the blade and also along the lower half of the eye as previously described. These features together with the brace-plate formed and applied as described makes it possible to make the blade of lighter material than otherwise and also of increased width or length and without sacrificing strength at the most essential points in the area of the blade.

The upper opposite corners of the blade are cut at an oblique angle and then curved or bent rearwardly as illustrated clearly in Figs. 1 and so as to afford cutting blades 9 at the opposite corners of the blade which are useful in cultivating cotton plants by inverting the hoe and cutting or weeding out the young plants. The length of the blade and the locating of the cutting blades at opposite corners insure uniform spacing of the plants asthe length or width of the blade serves as a gage for insuring the proper spacing of the plants. This is of value because hoes of the ordinary width are eon siderably less than the proper spacing of the plantsand when employed by the careless'or indifferent laborer such as ordinarily obtainable theyare indifferent as to the spacing and this results not infrequently in going overthe field more thanonce for the proper spacing of the. )lants. By constructing the blade as described however it is made possible to obtain the desirable results in view.

The blade is attached to the brace-plate by the application of rivets-1O at the three points indicated which is sufficient for the purpose especially in view of the brace shoulders, and other features of construction specified. -i v I haveillustrated and'described with particularitythe features found best in actual practice forftlie objects in View but it is obvious that departures may be made from such specific details without departing from .the

essential features as indicated in the appended clann.

l'laving described my invention what I claim is The within described hoe comprising a relatively thin blade formed with a centrally disposed recess in its upper edge to receive the lower portion of the eye which receives the handle, and a brace-plate, handle-receiving eye and laterally extending shoulders formed integral with each other, said eye projecting from the front of the brace-plate so that its lower portion will fit within the recess in the top edge of the blade and bear against its walls and the upper portion will lie above the top edge of the blade, and said laterally extending shoulders intersecting the handle-eye above the lower portion of the eye and at such point resting upon the top edge of the blade to brace the connection between the blade and eye at said point, the brace-plate extending laterally beyond the outer ends of said shoulders below the top edge of the blade and bracing the body of the blade to a substantial extent beyond the ends of the shoulders, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my-signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES W. BAR'WIGK.

Witnesses \VM. G. HENDERSON, CHAS. S. HYEa.

Copies of thla fp atent in'ay be obtained for ave cents each, by addressing the Commisloaero! Tatcnts.

Washington, D. C." 

